


pursuing the king

by trixiechick



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Gen, feudal-era-ish supernatural au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 11:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8531299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixiechick/pseuds/trixiechick
Summary: Yukari is drawn to the Jungle





	

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday, Nagare!! this has been a long time coming... approximately ten million years ago, i posted a fic prompt meme, and i got these requests: seductiveyukari asked for nagare/yukari 17. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” and madamecitrus asked for nagare/yukari 5. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?” so i decided to do those together since they felt like they flowed together, anyway. i also apologize for the sketchy details, but this is a feudal-era-ish supernatural au. 
> 
> thank you!

☳ 

Yukari saw something interesting from the corner of his eye.

He casually tossed Kotowari and Ayamachi toward the corner of the salle. Kuroh immediately panicked and went to them. 

"Ani-ue! We must be very careful with Master's swords! And they must be cleaned!" Kuroh fussed.

"Why?" Yukari stretched out, running his fingers through his hair. "They weren't used. Well, well, you take care of that, I have something to do."

"Eh? But Master Ichigen said..." Kuroh frowned.

"Yes, yes, Master Ichigen gave me the swords to attend to, and now I'm telling _you_ to do it. That's the order of things in our Super Happy Family. Are you saying you can't do it?" Yukari gave Kuroh a sharp look.

"I can do it!" Kuroh's eyes were shining brightly.

Even if he wanted to hate this kid, it would be impossible. Mostly. "Then, please do!" Yukari turned to follow that Interesting Thing.

"But... wait... where are you going? With your sword?" Kuroh frowned.

"Oh, I'm on a _very special mission_ that only high ranking students can go on," Yukari teased, winking.

He went outside, ignoring Kuroh's pout. 

Naturally, there was no sign of the presence Yukari had seen, but he knew where to go. Across the field and down the lane, follow the river, and go to the woods. The lane diverged in the woods, and instead of taking either the left or the right, he veered around the camphor tree to walk into the woods. 

Now, he was in what the locals called the Jungle.

He kept an eye out for any sign, any flash of color or light, any movement. The woods got denser, but Yukari had become adept in the past few months at navigating his way through the thicket.

He came to a small clearing where a stream was trickling through, and at the bank of the stream, there sat a young man in a beautiful kimono with his feet in the water. The young man seemed frail to the point that it was doubtful if he could stand on his own. He had a mop of black, wavy hair that covered half of his face. The eye that was visible was blue, an icy blue that looked right through Yukari. His kimono was white at the shoulders, but by the hem, it was a dark, mossy green, and there was a vague, geometric pattern running throughout.

He was undeniably the most beautiful person Yukari had ever seen. Especially his thick, bushy tail and pointed ears. 

The Green King, Hisui Nagare, was a master of _Change_ , Transformation. Yukari licked his lips, and carelessly put his hand on the hilt of his blade. "I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he exaggerated.

"I did not make it difficult for you to follow me," Nagare replied coolly.

Yukari chuckled and circled around Nagare. "You even came to see me. At least I assume you did; I saw a streak of greenish fur."

Nagare twitched his tail in annoyance. "Did you have fun at your sortie? Did you get to test your blade?" He eyed Yukari's hand on his hilt. 

"Unfortunately... or, I suppose, I should say, fortunately," Yukari sighed. "There was no battle today. Master Ichigen was able to counsel both sides of the conflict, and bring about a resolution."

"Oh, annoying," Nagare made a face. "And after I went to such trouble to rile them up for you."

Yukari smiled easily. "I _had_ suspected... and you did that just for me?"

"The Red King is a man who is always ready to fight. The Blue King is not much better, especially when it comes to the Red King. So, riling them up is quite easy. But, since your aesthetic involves battle..." He shrugged, and turned his gaze back to the stream.

"My King's philosophy involves peace, which necessitates stagnation." Yukari sighed. That was... a terrible thing to say, but since it was true, he couldn't be bothered caring.

"Miwa Ichigen is not your King," Nagare stated.

"What makes you say that?" Yukari narrowed his eyes.

"I am your King," Nagare replied calmly.

"That's a bold statement," Yukari scoffed. "Are you poaching clansmen from other Kings? I'm flattered, of course, but what makes you think I want to leave Master Ichigen?"

"Because you are here," Nagare replied. "You are already in the Jungle. Did you think I let just anyone enter?"

Yukari pressed his lips together. It was true that, along with special characteristics, each King had their own territory. The Gold King had his castle, the Red King had his den, the Blue King had his barracks. Yukari was vaguely aware that the fact that he was entering Jungle meant something, but.

He pulled out his sword, and held it to Nagare's throat. "Why do you want me?"

"Ask yourself why you want me," Nagare replied, not even blinking.

"You must not see me as a threat," Yukari said, his frustration spilling out. He was a vassal. That was what he _wanted_ to be. Needed and desired by his King. But, he wasn't, was he?

"I believe you are capable of killing a King," Nagare replied. His voice was always so smooth, so calm, so assured. "Perhaps not with _that_ sword. You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

"Jealous?" Yukari laughed. "I have no desire to be a King. Your existence is something above me."

"That is not true. A King is just a person, after all," Nagare contradicted, his tail swishing back and forth to contradict _him_. "But I did not mean that you were jealous of me. I mean, you are jealous of the new apprentice.

"The son, who has gotten closer to Miwa Ichigen than you could hope to."

Yukari's hand wavered as his eyes widened. "Who said... that I couldn't..."

"Are you saying that you can?" Nagare asked him with clear eyes. 

Before Yukari could answer, a green bird unlike any other in the country came to rest on Nagare's shoulder. The bird bit at Nagare's hair, and squawked into his ear.

Yukari sighed, and let the sword fall away from Nagare's throat. "Are you able to talk to all animals?" he asked wearily. Nagare's _special abilities_ were too vast, weren't they?

"Animals. Birds. Insects. Plants. Communication is coded and regular. Therefore, it is understandable." Nagare's response made Yukari feel as if he had been negligent in not conversing with the squirrels all his life. "Will you come, then?"

"I'm sorry?" Yukari blinked.

"You followed me. How far do you intend to go?" Nagare asked him. And then. Green electricity crackled all around him, and Nagare transformed into a swallow. 

He and the green bird took off and left Yukari and his kimono behind. 

Chuckling, Yukari picked up the kimono with his sword. He touched it, and pressed it to his face.

It was the finest silk, of course.

☳ 

Yukari knelt before his Master. Miwa Ichigen had called him in to his private study, but he was still finishing scribbling in one of his many notebooks. Miwa Ichigen was a genius with finance, a gifted advisor, and a hobbyist who dabbled in nearly every art and science. 

Yukari was patient.

Master Ichigen looked at Yukari, smiling gently, and then he turned to face his first clansman and apprentice. 

"Yukari. The Gold King has determined that it is the Green King who has been causing so much trouble of late."

Yukari blinked, but he said nothing in reply.

"He believes that the Green King might, once again, make an attempt on his life to take the Slate." Master Ichigen waited for Yukari to reply, so Yukari had to say something.

"You agree with him, Master?" 

Master Ichigen paused for a breath, and then he turned, picked up a sword, and placed it between them.

It was Ayamachi.

"I have considered many possible outcomes. This is my answer. You will take Ayamachi... and dispatch the Green King."

Yukari let the full weight of the command settle down on him. His Master was gifted with foresight, so if he said that he'd considered many options... "Mistake," Yukari said softly, looking at the sword between them. "Are you sure... this is... the best..." Yukari looked at Master Ichigen frightfully.

Master Ichigen, however, was as calm as always. "There are only two outcomes from this path. Whichever you choose... will be your destiny."

Something inside of Yukari snapped. He leaned back, and grinned. "Is that so? Only two options... I thought I was being given an order, not a choice. I gather, Master, you've foreseen this. If that's the case, then why have you done nothing so far? Waiting until this moment... isn't that a form of cruelty? What if he is my true King?" Yukari challenged.

"Then you should be with your true King," Master Ichigen replied with a kind smile, but it shattered the last vestiges of Yukari's confidence.

Yukari picked up Ayamachi and stood up taking a step forward, all in one fluid motion. He moved in on Master Ichigen, pressing his lips to his Master's for just a scant second. The look of disquiet on his Master's face as he pulled away was all he needed to see. "You foresee it all, don't you, Master. Well, then. 

" _Goodbye_."

☳ 

There wasn't truly a need to pack anything, but Yukari still went through his things, throwing some things out, setting some aside, and stuffing the rest into a small knapsack. He left next to the bed the sword he'd been carrying up to this point. He had a new sword now, and he'd make the most of it.

"Ani-ue?"

Yukari looked darkly over his shoulder. Kuroh was hovering near the door, clinging to the frame. He sighed, and then closed up the knapsack.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I've been given a mission," Yukari informed him, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice. 

"When will you be back?" Kuroh moved away from the frame, standing full in the center of the doorway.

Did he think he could stop Yukari? "I don't know. Maybe the next time we see each other, we'll be enemies." Kuroh's eyes widened, and his mouth formed an 'o.' "Oh, but don't worry," Yukari continued blithely. "It's all according to Master Ichigen's will, so it's exactly as it should be."

Kuroh stammered. The poor child, he probably agreed completely with that statement, and yet.

Yukari slung Ayamachi onto his back, and secured his knapsack out of the way of the sword. He went to the doorway, and rubbed Kuroh's head violently. "I'm kid~ding, of course. ...You'd have to be much, much more beautiful for me to consider you a rival, Kuroh~chan."

"Hey!" Kuroh pushed Yukari's hand away and looked up at him, his cheeks puffed out with anger. "Where are you really going?"

Yukari leaned down to look Kuroh in the eye, touching his nose to Kuroh's. "Into the belly of the beast." He poked Kuroh's forehead, and then he set off. 

Kuroh's protests would have to be addressed to Master Ichigen if he wanted a reply.

☳ 

Yukari had been wandering in the Jungle for over an hour before he caught sight of a flash of green, and following the direction it had gone in led him to a cozy clearing where a small house sat primly in the center of the open space. Maybe it was less of a house, but it was still more than a tent. All around the veranda and spilling over onto the grass were all sorts of objects, knick knacks, and souvenirs. Yukari recognized the Gold King's missing rocking chair, but there were also toys of all sorts, and books, and games, and vases, and artwork. All of it, messily strewn about with no sense of order.

Nagare was sitting in the grass with the green bird on his shoulder, and a tanuki tugging on the end of a scarf that Nagare was holding. Resting against the house was a man in the blackish-grey garb of a foreign priest.

Yukari raised an eyebrow. "The Grey King. The Gold King thinks you're dead."

"Good!" the Grey King laughed, raising his beer to Yukari cheerfully.

"Intruder! Intruder!" the green bird cried out, his wings spreading out, possibly to intimidate Yukari.

"No, an invited guest," Nagare told the bird calmly.

The tanuki rolled around and transformed into a small boy. From the looks of him, and his clothes, Yukari would guess that he was the son of a wealthy landowner, and that was about five or so years younger than Kuroh. It must have been that he was borrowing power from Nagare to transform like that, since Yukari could not sense any connection to the Slate on the boy. "State your business, then!"

Yukari smiled crookedly. "I've been ordered to kill the Green King," he informed the brat unceremoniously.

The brat's eyes and mouth widened into comically large circles, and then he cried out, "Nooooo," and threw himself between Yukari and Nagare, spreading his arms and legs out.

"Sukuna," Nagare pet the boy gently, and he transformed back into a tanuki. "Yukari will not kill me. Will you. Yukari?" Nagare looked up at him with his crystal blue eyes, and he held his hand out for Yukari.

So this was the moment of choice, then. And yet, it felt as if there was no choice at all. "Of course not," Yukari took Nagare's hand, and went down onto one knee. He kissed Nagare's hand passionately. He looked up at Nagare through his band. "M'lord."

Green power flowed from Nagare into Yukari. He shivered, but only because he felt _closeness_ to Nagare.

His true King.

"No fair, no fair!" Sukuna complained, chasing his tail. "I wanted to be your next clansman! Nagare! Nagare!!"

"I told you, you have to win one thousand more shogi games before you can join, Sukuna," Nagare informed him pleasantly. He was still looking straight into Yukari's eyes, right into his soul. 

"Aw!" Sukuna rolled up into a ball, pouting.

"Alllll right! Nagare finally made another clansman! Let's celebrate!" the Grey King crowed.

"You just want an excuse to drink," Sukuna pouted from behind his tail.

"Being alive is an excuse to drink," the Grey King corrected Sukuna. " _This_ is a reason to celebrate! Ok! I'll get snacks!"

"Ah! I'm helping, I wanna pick!" Sukuna jumped up and ran after the Grey King.

Yukari settled down next to Nagare.

Nagare looked at Yukari, and ran his hand down Yukari's back. "Ayamachi. I will give you all the opportunities you desire to seek your beauty, Yukari."

"Anything you desire, m'lord," Yukari smiled at Nagare.

Was he... actually home?

☳ 


End file.
